Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Liiiiiiseberg!

*Note: I found a video of Kanonen on YouTube, which I added at the end of the post.It's so funny!:-D

Liseberg. The largest theme park in Scandinavia located in the heart of Gothenburg city. 35 rides and attractions around hills, trees and water. Running since 1923.

I was there last Monday, and I want to go there again! I want to go there again! I want to go there again! (I may be developing hyperactive ADHD.)

Waiting for our turn at Balder. Me, Marcus and our friend Per with whom we stayed with during our stay in Göteborg

It's been a long time since I went to an amusement park, but it always seems that my initial reluctance ("why don't we just buy a couple of coupons?) always turns to addiction ("let's ride again?") as soon as I hit a couple of rides. So, after 2 water rides, 2 takes at the bumper cars, 2 vertical rides, the swing carousel, 3 rides in Balder, 2 rides in Kanonen and 4 Lisebergsbana rides – spending a whole day there from when the park opened and closed, that is – I still haven't had enough. And we haven't even tried all the exciting rides yet like the free fall and the giant suspended swing. Liseberg 2010, I can't wait! (What did I say about ADHD?)

I loved all of the three big roller coasters in the park and we rode each of them several times. Of these, the Lisebergsbana must be the most scenic of the three, that is, if you manage to keep your eyes open. It goes up, down and sideways around the hills and trees in the park, and stops with some real scary braking power. The two other big roller coasters, Kanonen ("The canon" – so called because the train shoots out from standstill and reaches its top speed after 2 seconds) and the all-wooden roller coaster Balder (named after a Norse god of light) do, however, top the thrill list.

Kanonen and Balder

Kanonen is so scary and exciting that it's a pity the whole ride only takes less than 2 minutes. It has a 90-degree vertical fall ("Eeee!"), a twisting loop, and a 360-degree turn on its track that hangs you upside-down over the other people waiting in line. Waiting in the line with the riders above you upside-down really builds up anticipation, I must say! My scream wouldn't catch up with this ride. As soon as you pass one scary angle, there's another one waiting around the corner for the whole duration of the ride.

And then there's Balder, the roller coaster whose frame is made entirely out of wood. The first fall is at a 70-degree angle and the whole ride has lots of bumps and falls that make you feel weightless. Parts of these falls occur inside wooden tunnels so that you have an illusion of falling into a rabbit hole. I squealed a lot. It was GREAT! :-)

Well, since pictures say a thousand words, I might as well show you these:

Eeek! I thought I'd never ride it again after that, but a few sour candy pieces later and I changed my mind. Marcus never squealed one peep! He looked like he enjoyed watching me get jittery, though. Haha!

Our friend Per was also with us, but he rode a different train in the Balder. Too bad, Per, I would have liked to know if you squealed during the ride. I think you were thinking this, though:

Anyway, my expression in rides 2 and 3 didn't get any better:

And, did you notice that I was surrounded by fearless kids and adults who made faces (and a calm Marcus)? Gloaters!

By the way, this was the last ride of the night; we were the absolutely last people to make it to the Balder line before they cordoned it off. What a way to end the day. I had loads of fun!